Rollie Fingers

They are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the A’s 1974 World Series championship team this weekend, and there is one exceptionally strong link between that team and the current one.

Sal Bando, the third baseman in Oakland when the A’s won three consecutive World Series title, was the general manager in Milwaukee when he hired a young catcher whose career as a player was over to scout.

The scout’s name was Bob Melvin, the man at the helm of the A’s now.

“As a general manager you are always looking for quality baseball people,’’ Bando said in looking back to that 1996 hiring. “He was definitely that. It was to our advantage to bring someone like that aboard.